I wanna work in pictures!

January 5, 2010 9:18 AM

I'm interested to get involved in tv production, ideally in a researcher or production management position, but I know I'll need to start a little bit further down the food chain. Trouble is I don't have any experience. Is this the most stupid idea in the world?

I'm 27, in London, doing something I find desperately dull, want a new career, and I want to work in tv. I don't have any specific experience that would be applicable (no media/film studies degree and haven't ever worked in a film/tv environment, though I do have skills that I feel would be applicable), but I do have lots of enthusiasm, a good attitude and the ability to take on unpaid experience if I must. I've been looking into taking a short course, but I'm not able to take on more full-time study at the moment. I've been scouring message boards and websites, but there's so much information around and so much of it is conflicting, so I thought I'd come here and see what the hive mind had to say!

I guess my question is, am I likely to have any luck? I'm keenly aware that even unpaid work in the film and tv industry is highly competitive, so I just want to know whether I should wait until I've had some training/education or whether what I'm doing is completely mad. Is it possible to break into tv without any contacts or media experience?

posted by shewhoeats to Work & Money (8 answers total)

It's possible, but it's hard. You will likely have to do interning. You will certainly have to devote yourself to showbiz in a passionate way; you can't do it halfsies.

I don't know what it's like in London. In Canada it's quite helpful to go to the Canadian Film Institute. In the US it is not necessary to go to film school. You may need to intern a bit before you can get into a useful film school, and you'll also get a better sense if you need to go to a film school by seeing what sort of background the people around you have.

Here's a blog post about breaking into show business in the US, from the perspective of a would-be screenwriter.

The key question is: what do you want to do in showbiz? You must have a passion for doing something in particular or you'll just get lost.
posted by musofire at 9:40 AM on January 5, 2010

Internships are definitely your best bet. While taking courses will benefit you in terms of meeting people with similar goals and making a few contacts, the quickest way to break in is to jump into an internship.

Search for production companies in your area and email them about possible internships. While many will turn you down, the key to breaking into the business is simply not to get discouraged.

I don't know how it works in London but the majority of internships here in LA require that you be enrolled in some kind of class where you get college credit for the internship, however, there are still many that don't.
posted by ManyNinjas at 9:44 AM on January 5, 2010

Internships are good, but you will in the vast majority of cases have to fund yourself. You'll get to meet people that way, though, and I know a few who got jobs through interning. If you are currently a student, congratulations - you have enough spare time to try and fit it in, as it's hard once you have to work as internships are full-time.

Check for every possible scheme in the field - eg. the BBC (very) occasionally run traineeships. If you have a disability or are from a BME community, take full advantage of any special schemes available - my paragraph above outlines why the media is predominantly white, able and middle-class and those schemes exist for a reason.

I'd also recommend getting a subscription to Broadcast, or at least perusing the library copy. Also, don't rule out taking on less creative positions at media companies - the BBC for one offer a lot of supplementary roles which have a dual advantage - they're a way to try new environments and gain new skills, and you can access internal jobs.

ALSO - if you're in London, look into media employment agencies. I work in advertising and we take temps from Judy Fisher.
posted by mippy at 9:56 AM on January 5, 2010

I don't know about the UK. And I'm in TV news (in the U.S.). You have to go to school for it here to get a foot in the door (internship). If you don't have that, you will need to know someone in the business who can get you an interview for an internship.

Now for the non-PC part which will no doubt offend the typical Metafilter person- so please stop reading here if any of you are one of those people: If you are female, young and attractive you may get your foot in the door that way. This is experience talking here. And news is no different from entertainment. This is just the way it is. And - like it or not folks- it's a bona fide option. I've seen "hot chicks" getting internships who were lit or history majors (ie: they had no communications or media exposure). Some of them failed, some succeeded.

I stress "it may get your foot in the door" - and that's it. What you do after that is up to you.
posted by Zambrano at 10:00 AM on January 5, 2010

another idea is to get involved in some sort of film project - there's lots of young filmmakers out there making short films - seek them out and volunteer your services. You'll look a lot better applying for an internship with a dvd of a production you have a credit on in your hand.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 10:43 AM on January 5, 2010

Production management is pretty specialized and requires quite a bit of experience/cred. But on the other hand, research isn't horribly hard to break into- you can work on indie documentaries and stuff like that for experience, and if you interview engagingly and often (lots of "Hey so-and-so recommended I talk to you, may I take you for a coffee and pick your brain" type calls) it's just a numbers game- it won't take long to land a job that leads up a job ladder.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 10:52 PM on January 5, 2010

If you are female, young and attractive you may get your foot in the door that way. This is experience talking here. And news is no different from entertainment.

This is not the case in the UK - I've worked in news myself. If you have the right accent or background, though, it helps a lot. I hate to be that cynical but I have seen it - and even when acknowledging that a lot of this is through senses of confidence/entitlement.

Also, media, particularly news media, is *very* Oxbridge biased in the UK, and Oxford and Cambridge only offer traditionally academic degrees rather than communications studies. 'Traditional' subjects will not hold you back, although further, more specialist qualification goes a long way. It's difficult to become a journalist without an NCTJ-accredited MA.
posted by mippy at 5:30 AM on January 6, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks all for your answers - very helpful and encouraging (though I may want to work on becoming a 6ft blonde Oxbridge graduate!).
posted by shewhoeats at 7:06 AM on January 7, 2010